Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Restaurant Week in Boston - Henrietta's Table

It's Restaurant Week in Boston. I ate at Henrietta's Table with some friends last night, and it was good. The restaurant is located in the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, Cambridge.

A Fresh Berry Mojito started the night off right. They improved the classic by muddling fresh blackberries, blueberries and raspberries with the sugar and mint - delicious.

My meal started off with a local heirloom tomato salad, a special on the last nights menu. A mix of red, green and yellow heirloom tomatoes with fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar was excellent.

My second course was another one of last night's specials. I had a steamed black grouper filet served on a bed of fresh young greens with a fresh heirloom tomato relish. I also had some roasted carrots and turnips. Course two was again, excellent.

Black Grouper on fresh baby greens with fresh heirloom tomato relish

The finale, however, left something to be desired. I figured I couldn't go wrong with their signature dessert, Henrietta's Chocolate Bread Pudding Sundae. Chocolate bread pudding with caramelized bananas, vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and nuts served in a parfait glass. I was wrong. The whipped cream tasted like nothing. Seriously, like nothing. The bread pudding and bananas were good, but the whole dessert experience wasn't that good. A friend tried the pie of the day, a peach, ginger and apricot pie. It wasn't very good either.

So, for cocktails and dinner I'd recommend Henrietta's table, the food really is good and fresh. Stay away from the desserts though, they aren't worth it.

Other highlights from the menu include the braised lamb shank served in a sherry mushroom sauce with white beans and roasted vegetables. Rumor has it they have a great brunch too.